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The Trumpet-Major
''The Trumpet-Major'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy published in 1880, and his only historical novel, and Hardy included it with his "romances and fantasies". It concerns the heroine, Anne Garland, being pursued by three suitors: John Loveday, the eponymous trumpet major in a British regiment, honest and loyal; his brother Bob, a flighty sailor; and Festus Derriman, the cowardly nephew of the local squire. Unusually for a Hardy novel, the ending is not entirely tragic; however, there remains an ominous element in the probable fate of one of the main characters. The novel is set in Weymouth during the Napoleonic wars; the town was then anxious about the possibility of invasion by Napoleon. Of the two brothers, John fights with Wellington in the Peninsular War, and Bob serves with Nelson at Trafalgar. The Napoleonic Wars was a setting that Hardy would use again in his play, '' The Dynasts'', and it borrows from the same source material.Taylor xxi-xxii Edward Neill has called the no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott CBE (11 August 1929 – 11 March 2008) was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition. Life and works Hoddinott was born in Bargoed, Glamorganshire, Wales. He was educated at Gowerton Grammar school before matriculating to University College, Cardiff, and later studied privately with Arthur Benjamin. His first major composition, the Clarinet Concerto, was performed at the Cheltenham Festival of 1954 by Gervase de Peyer with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli. This brought Hoddinott a national profile, which was followed by a string of commissions by leading orchestras and soloists. These commissions continued up to his death, and he was championed by some of the most distinguished singers and instrumentalists of the 20th century. These include singers such as Dame Margaret Price, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Sir Thomas Allen, Jill Gomez, Sir Geraint Evans and more recently Claire Booth, Helen Field, Gail Pearson a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in history. Nelson was born into a moderately prosperous Norfolk family and joined the navy through the influence of his uncle, Maurice Suckling, a high-ranking naval officer. Nelson rose rapidly through the ranks and served with leading naval commanders of the period before obtaining his own command at the age of 20, in 1778. He developed a reputation for personal valour and firm grasp of tactics, but suffered periods of illness and unemployment after the end of the American War of Independence. The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars allowed Nelson to return to service, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Woodlanders
''The Woodlanders'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in ''Macmillan's Magazine'' and published in three volumes in 1887. It is one of his series of Wessex novels. Plot summary The story takes place in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, and concerns the efforts of an honest woodsman, Giles Winterborne, to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury. Although they have been informally betrothed for some time, her father has made financial sacrifices to give his adored only child a superior education and no longer considers Giles good enough for her. When the new doctor – a well-born and handsome young man named Edred Fitzpiers – takes an interest in Grace, her father does all he can to make Grace forget Giles, and to encourage what he sees as a brilliant match. Grace has misgivings prior to the marriage as she sees a village woman (Suke Damson) coming out of his cottage very early in the morning and suspects he has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chelsea Pensioner
A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is home to 300 retired British soldiers, male and female (the latter since 2009), and is located on Royal Hospital Road. Historically, the term "Chelsea Pensioner" applied more widely, referring to both In-Pensioners and Out-Pensioners who live elsewhere. In- and Out-Pensioners The Royal Hospital was founded by King Charles II in 1682 as a retreat for veterans.Guidebook, p. 3 The provision of a hostel rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. During the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II, the Royal Hospital was still under construction so they introduced a system for distribution of army pensions in 1689. The pension was to be made available to all former soldiers who had been injured in service, or who had served for more than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Return Of The Native
''The Return of the Native'' is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine ''Belgravia'', a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Because of the novel's controversial themes, Hardy had some difficulty finding a publisher; reviews, however, though somewhat mixed, were generally positive. In the twentieth century, ''The Return of the Native'' became one of Hardy's most popular and highly regarded novels. Plot summary The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath, and, with the exception of the epilogue, ''Aftercourses'', covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy Fawkes Night as Diggory Venn is slowly crossing the heath with his van, which is being drawn by ponies. In his van is a passenger. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the surrounding hills, emphasising the pagan spirit of the heath and its den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of French domination over most of continental Europe. The wars stemmed from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars consisting of the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). The Napoleonic Wars are often described as five conflicts, each termed after the coalition that fought Napoleon: the Third Coalition (1803–1806), the Fourth (1806–1807), the Fifth (1809), the Sixth (1813–1814), and the Seventh (1815) plus the Peninsular War (1807–1814) and the French invasion of Russia (1812). Napoleon, upon ascending to First Consul of France in 1799, had inherited a republic in chaos; he subsequently created a state with stable finances, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east of Swindon, south of Oxford, west of London and north of Basingstoke. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centre, the The Oracle, Reading, Oracle. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and participates in many other sports. Reading dates from the 8th century. It was an important trading and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages, the site of Reading Abbey, one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weymouth Pavilion
The Weymouth Pavilion, formerly the Ritz, is a theatre in Weymouth, Dorset. The complex contains a 988-seat theatre, 600 (maximum) capacity ballroom known as the Ocean Room, the Piano Bar restaurant, Ritz Cafe and other function and meeting rooms. The original pavilion, constructed in 1908, was destroyed in a fire in 1954 and the current theatre was built in its place in 1958. It was owned and operated by Weymouth and Portland, Weymouth & Portland Borough Council until 2013 and is now operated by a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. The theatre is located at the end of The Esplanade, Weymouth, The Esplanade between Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, Weymouth Harbour and Weymouth Beach. History The Pavilion and The Ritz (1908-1954) The original pavilion was built in response to Weymouth's increasingly popularity as a seaside resort. Following calls for an entertainment venue, a site at the southern end of the Esplanade was chosen and an architectural competition launched in 1907 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorset County Museum
The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the neo-Gothic style. The museum includes information and over 2 million artifacts associated with archaeology (e.g., Maiden Castle), geology (e.g., the Jurassic Coast), history, local writers (e.g. Thomas Hardy) and natural science. There are video displays, activity carts for children, and an audio guide. The collections include fossilised dinosaur footprints, Roman mosaics and original Thomas Hardy manuscripts. Museum The museum was founded in 1846, and includes two significant collections, the archive of Thomas Hardy's works and fossils from the Jurassic Coast. The total collection extends to approximately four million items. The museum is owned by the Dorset Natural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as ''The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Gate
Max Gate is the former home of Thomas Hardy and is located on the outskirts of Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was designed and built by Thomas Hardy for his own use in 1885 and he lived there until his death in 1928. In 1940 it was bequeathed to the National Trust by Hardy's sister and is now open to the public. It was designated as a Grade I listed building on 8 May 1970. Description The house is a Grade I listed building, having been so designated since 8 May 1970. It was designed by Thomas Hardy and built out of red brick in 1885 in Queen Anne style. The architecture is more similar to country houses designed by Philip Webb rather than those designed by Richard Norman Shaw. Thomas Hardy had purchased one and a half acres of land to build the house and was delighted to find Roman relics on the land. The building work was done by his father, who was a builder, and his brother. The name of the house was a pun on the name of a nearby toll-house known as "Mack's Gate" after a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
